Alena Kostornaia

[flanker]

I would be glad to see what Mishin would say to such proposal

 

[Fluture]

If you sent Alena to Mishin, she would probably have that 3A within two weeks. I don't know if Eteri is the right coach to teach 3A's...

Yes, please! Papa Mishin for that 3A and the lutz edge!! Can’t she attend a summer camp by him? But get the programs elsewhere because as much as I enjoy Liza‘s and Sofia‘s programs this season there is like zero choreography behind arm movements.

I would be glad to see what Mishin would say to such proposal

I would be even more interested in what Eteri would say about such a proposal.

 

[Fluture]

Well at least those qualities are (hopefully) not going anywhere, while quads... who knows?

Well... no one knows what will happen in the future. I‘d rather not rely on Sasha and Anna losing their quads and wait until then for Alena to have a chance against Sasha and Anna even if they land one quad. I know that if Sasha‘s clean (or Anna) they‘ll score higher than Alena and that‘s okay. It‘s just so frustrating to see a skater make a serious mistake in their SP and still win in the end over someone who‘s skated two virtually perfect programs. It just doesn‘t seem right to me to tell Alena (and her fans) to “just wait until the others have gone through puberty“. Especially since I don’t wish for anything bad for any of these girls to happen, so hoping they‘ll lose all their jumps or get injured is just not what I do. I like them all. I just want fair scoring (that includes PCS not rising artificially alongside the TES score) and then it’ll be fine. My point was that Alena‘s flawless skates should have been rewarded more, especially since others made mistakes. It‘s just frustrating and unsatisfying as a viewer to have a result like we had at Russian Junior Nationals. Like I said, I‘m happy for Sasha but I wish she had had a better SP. Then I‘d not have that lingering feeling of: “But how can someone who makes mistakes win over someone who skated perfectly?“ and think that a different results might have been more fair.

But Alena‘s season has been great so far and I‘m trying not to complain too much. Especially since the new system is good for skaters like Alena, the +5 GOE rewards quality. And she has won JGPF after all, which is a great achievement. With last year‘s system the result would probably have been different. So, there have been some positive changes and I‘m certainly happy about this. At the beginning of the season I‘d never have imagined that Alena would be able to win any major tournament but not because of her talent but the judging. (Remember last year‘s JGPF) It‘s improving. I hope that the scoring at Junior Worlds will be a bit different than at Nationals here but let‘s wait and see. JGPF was a great start and had a very fair scoring. I hope to see that again.

 

[Scott512]

If you sent Alena to Mishin, she would probably have that 3A within two weeks. I don't know if Eteri is the right coach to teach 3A's...

Hmmmm. You cant write that! Although some of us have thought that, Interesting thought though. But I doubt Alena will be bringing Eteri flowers anytime soon.

Because her 2a is big shouldnt Alena be able to do a quality 3a?

 

[flanker]

I would be even more interested in what Eteri would say about such a proposal.

Something like Shrek: "That's my princess. Go find your own."

 

[SkateSkates]

Well... no one knows what will happen in the future. I‘d rather not rely on Sasha and Anna losing their quads and wait until then for Alena to have a chance against Sasha and Anna even if they land one quad. I know that if Sasha‘s clean (or Anna) they‘ll score higher than Alena and that‘s okay. It‘s just so frustrating to see a skater make a serious mistake in their SP and still win in the end over someone who‘s skated two virtually perfect programs. It just doesn‘t seem right to me to tell Alena (and her fans) to “just wait until the others have gone through puberty“. Especially since I don’t wish for anything bad for any of these girls to happen, so hoping they‘ll lose all their jumps or get injured is just not what I do. I like them all. I just want fair scoring (that includes PCS not rising artificially alongside the TES score) and then it’ll be fine. My point was that Alena‘s flawless skates should have been rewarded more, especially since others made mistakes. It‘s just frustrating and unsatisfying as a viewer to have a result like we had at Russian Junior Nationals. Like I said, I‘m happy for Sasha but I wish she had had a better SP. Then I‘d not have that lingering feeling of: “But how can someone who makes mistakes win over someone who skated perfectly?“ and think that a different results might have been more fair.

But Alena‘s season has been great so far and I‘m trying not to complain too much. Especially since the new system is good for skaters like Alena, the +5 GOE rewards quality. And she has won JGPF after all, which is a great achievement. With last year‘s system the result would probably have been different. So, there have been some positive changes and I‘m certainly happy about this. At the beginning of the season I‘d never have imagined that Alena would be able to win any major tournament but not because of her talent but the judging. (Remember last year‘s JGPF) It‘s improving. I hope that the scoring at Junior Worlds will be a bit different than at Nationals here but let‘s wait and see. JGPF was a great start and had a very fair scoring. I hope to see that again.

Yes this. I do not have anything against Sasha. I think she brings excitement and great athletic performances; however, she recieved a 6 point PCS boost while Alena and Anna both got 3 points vs senior nats. Yes she had a better performance than nationals, but so did Alena, who had much more speed and interpretation in the 2nd half, especially in the footwork. Sasha won by about 3 points - from that extra PCS boost. It is not fair to her nor the other skaters as this affected the final result. And for people who discount the time and effort it takes to develop skating skills/performance aspects - please go watch ice dancers train for hours every day on these very things. Gabi P is a great example of hard work on skating skills paying off after years of practice. It’s not as easy as they make it look.

End rant.

 

[malya]

I just doublechecked to see Alena is still using her Edea Chorus boots... - > not too much stability, they are recommended for skaters who try double jumps - not triples, and certainly not more!

Honestly she is the only singles skater I know who uses them. Maybe that's a reason she is not even allowed to try quads/3A at the moment? To minimize risk she should start using boots with more stability (especially if she has minor injuries?!) and changing boots is really not what you want to do as a skater before important competitions... Let's see if they will change next season or keep what is working now

 

[macy]

I just doublechecked to see Alena is still using her Edea Chorus boots... - > not too much stability, they are recommended for skaters who try double jumps - not triples, and certainly not more!

Honestly she is the only singles skater I know who uses them. Maybe that's a reason she is not even allowed to try quads/3A at the moment? To minimize risk she should start using boots with more stability (especially if she has minor injuries?!) and changing boots is really not what you want to do as a skater before important competitions... Let's see if they will change next season or keep what is working now

i noticed this as well. if she is going to be working more on 3A she really should be using a more supportive boot. hopefully that is in her plans as she could risk injury continuing to use a lower level boot.

also, has alena ever spoken on why she doesn't attempt harder 3+3 combos? anna and sasha are doing 3F+3Lo and 3Lz+3T, and 3F+3T and 3Lz+3Lo, where Alena is only doing 3F+3T and 3S+3T. this is one way she can increase scoring potential before she gets a 3A consistent. she also does a 3+2+2 and not a 3+1/2Lo+3 like the other two.

 

[SkateSkates]

i noticed this as well. if she is going to be working more on 3A she really should be using a more supportive boot. hopefully that is in her plans as she could risk injury continuing to use a lower level boot.

also, has alena ever spoken on why she doesn't attempt harder 3+3 combos? anna and sasha are doing 3F+3Lo and 3Lz+3T, and 3F+3T and 3Lz+3Lo, where Alena is only doing 3F+3T and 3S+3T. this is one way she can increase scoring potential before she gets a 3A consistent. she also does a 3+2+2 and not a 3+1/2Lo+3 like the other two.

I think she repeats the 3T Rippon because it is her best jump and gets her very high GOE - +4/5 offsetting the GOE for a +2/3 Lo combo. I do think she should switch to doing a 3lz+3T in the LP if she continues to improve her edge because she will get the higher GOE multiplier on a more impressive combo (vs the 3Lz2T2T)

 

[Edwin]

I just doublechecked to see Alena is still using her Edea Chorus boots... - > not too much stability, they are recommended for skaters who try double jumps - not triples, and certainly not more!

Honestly she is the only singles skater I know who uses them. Maybe that's a reason she is not even allowed to try quads/3A at the moment? To minimize risk she should start using boots with more stability (especially if she has minor injuries?!) and changing boots is really not what you want to do as a skater before important competitions... Let's see if they will change next season or keep what is working now

I think the softer boot allows for a more expressive and smooth skating in the skills part of Kostornaya's routines. Or her ankles and calf muscles are strong enough to compensate for the softer boot in the jump elements?
She did seem to wear a splint kind of thing under her tights at the outside left ankle in last weekend's free skate.

It was only yesterday, Alyona will be home by now ...
Will she need to have a good cry into her mother's shoulder over the outcome of the free skate? That FS was of such a quality that every senior skater can only admire and perhaps envy ...

 

[Mawwerg]

2018 was a year of glory for Edea Chorus.

 

[SkateSkates]

I think the softer boot allows for a more expressive and smooth skating in the skills part of Kostornaya's routines. Or her ankles and calf muscles are strong enough to compensate for the softer boot in the jump elements?
She did seem to wear a splint kind of thing under her tights at the outside left ankle in last weekend's free skate.

It was only yesterday, Alyona will be home by now ...
Will she need to have a good cry into her mother's shoulder over the outcome of the free skate? That FS was of such a quality that every senior skater can only admire and perhaps envy ...

Speaking of this, does anyone know what she was wearing in her ankle? I hope she’s not too injured and takes time to heal before Jr Worlds

 

[Fluture]

Hmmmm. You cant write that! Although some of us have thought that, Interesting thought though. But I doubt Alena will be bringing Eteri flowers anytime soon.

Because her 2a is big shouldnt Alena be able to do a quality 3a?

Huh? I don‘t think saying Alena could get help from a technical specialist such as Mishin is suggesting that she should change coach altogether. Many skaters have done that before and sought out different coaches to help them with specific problems, so it‘s not that unusual.

Mishin as Alena‘s primary coach probably wouldn‘t work; her style just doesn‘t fit his. But I wish she could attend a summer camp by his. He‘s a great technician and I think he could help her with her 3A and her lutz edge. He taught Liza her reliable 3A technique after all and he helped Sofia go from a flutz to a slight outside edge. But Team Eteri has their own summer camp where they work on choreography and programs and stuff like that so it‘s not gonna happen for Alena.

Hm... I don‘t think it‘s that easy. Many ladies have great and high quality 2A still never got the 3A. It‘s a challenging jump and something about it must be really hard, considering someone like Sasha who learns a new quad in a month or so still struggles with it. I guess it‘s the forward take off that‘s harder to control. Alena indeed has an exceptional 2A so the potential for a triple is definitely there. Trying to say it as respectfully as possible: most of the students Eteri/her team has/have been teaching for a long time have not so good axel technique. That‘s why I‘m kind of doubting she‘s the best one to teach this specific jump.

I‘m not suggesting she should change coach. Just maybe like Rika did/does and get help from a jump coach that is known to teach exceptional technique and exceed at teaching the technique used for this jump - the 3A.

 

[Fluture]

Me, whenever I see the brilliance that is Alena‘s skating.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtbA3-SHSVm/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=p7vbp8jn6f39

 

[Edwin]

What are the roles in Khrustalniy? It is a complete and comprehensive sports training and education complex, with all kinds of specialists in many disciplines of sport. So OFP, ordinary physical preparation, stretching and conditioning, ballet and dance are taught by other trainers not necessarily exclusive to figure skating?

Tutberidze: taskmaster, head of training staff and ultimately held responsible for either success or failure?
Dudakov: skating coach and technical specialist?
Gleikhengauz: choreographer and artistic specialist?

No matter what you may think of certain scenes or clips pulled out of context, this rink is working at the highest level. A competitive atmosphere, tough and demanding trainings, these are to be found in any other sport too.
There must be a good working relationship and strong bond between trainers and skaters. These people spend so much time together they get to know each other very well.
The trainers know every strength and weakness in their charges, the skaters know every good or bad character trait in their trainers. Both parties play to each other in order to achieve the best result while having a reasonably good time 'at work'.

 

[AndrewK22]

Huh? I don‘t think saying Alena could get help from a technical specialist such as Mishin is suggesting that she should change coach altogether. Many skaters have done that before and sought out different coaches to help them with specific problems, so it‘s not that unusual.

Mishin as Alena‘s primary coach probably wouldn‘t work; her style just doesn‘t fit his. But I wish she could attend a summer camp by his. He‘s a great technician and I think he could help her with her 3A and her lutz edge. He taught Liza her reliable 3A technique after all and he helped Sofia go from a flutz to a slight outside edge. But Team Eteri has their own summer camp where they work on choreography and programs and stuff like that so it‘s not gonna happen for Alena.

Hm... I don‘t think it‘s that easy. Many ladies have great and high quality 2A still never got the 3A. It‘s a challenging jump and something about it must be really hard, considering someone like Sasha who learns a new quad in a month or so still struggles with it. I guess it‘s the forward take off that‘s harder to control. Alena indeed has an exceptional 2A so the potential for a triple is definitely there. Trying to say it as respectfully as possible: most of the students Eteri/her team has/have been teaching for a long time have not so good axel technique. That‘s why I‘m kind of doubting she‘s the best one to teach this specific jump.

I‘m not suggesting she should change coach. Just maybe like Rika did/does and get help from a jump coach that is known to teach exceptional technique and exceed at teaching the technique used for this jump - the 3A.

Hypothetically, it's an interesting proposal. However, I think you're overestimating Mishin's generosity.

I still remember the Jags/Plushy clash and have that image of a highly ambitious, tough and somewhat self-centered coach. Yes, people tend to get softer with age, but I doubt it's the case with Mishin. He is still in the business and wouldn't want to make his skaters' life more difficult by sharing pro secrets with Eteri's girls.

 

[Fluture]

What are the roles in Khrustalniy? It is a complete and comprehensive sports training and education complex, with all kinds of specialists in many disciplines of sport. So OFP, ordinary physical preparation, stretching and conditioning, ballet and dance are taught by other trainers not necessarily exclusive to figure skating?

Tutberidze: taskmaster, head of training staff and ultimately held responsible for either success or failure?
Dudakov: skating coach and technical specialist?
Gleikhengauz: choreographer and artistic specialist?

No matter what you may think of certain scenes or clips pulled out of context of this rink working at the highest level, there must be a good working relationship and strong bond between trainers and skaters.
These people spend so much time together they get to know each other very well.
The trainers know every strength and weakness in their charges, the skaters know every good or bad character trait in their trainers. Both parties play to each other to achieve the best result while having a reasonably good time 'at work'.

They are undoubtedly very successful. However, it‘s not uncommon practice to spend time with a technical specialist or to do summer camps somewhere else to get some work done on your jumps. Rika Kihira for example has done it frequently and still does it and I don‘t doubt that her coaching team is very successful as well. I think it‘s a shame that in Russia there seems to be such a big rivalry between coaching teams. Skaters that get to know both the best of Mishin’s and Eteri‘s school would literally be unbeatable. His technique, her programs and transitions. Just think about it. I know a lot is about funding as well (because the funding system in Russia is different and skaters don’t pay the coaches/specialists themselves like they do in some other countries) and a different mentality and it will likely never happen but still... it definitely sounds interesting. Eteri is surely working for Alena right now and I‘m not saying I want for her to change coach. That‘s her decision alone. I‘m not delusional to think that I know best. She‘s the skater after all. The argument with Mishin and him helping her with her lutz and 3A was just brought up by someone in here and it‘s kind of one of my figure skating fan dreams. Because Alena with a outside edge (even if slightly outside only) and a 3A would mean she wouldn’t have any significant flaws whatsoever. And that‘s something to dream about. But in the end, it‘s entirely her decision and I‘m sure SHE alone will make the best one for herself. I just know that I‘ll always cheer her on no matter what she wants to do in the sport.

 

[Fluture]

Hypothetically, it's an interesting proposal. However, I think you're overestimating Mishin's generosity.

I still remember the Jags/Plushy clash and have that image of a highly ambitious, tough and somewhat self-centered coach. Yes, people tend to get softer with age, but I doubt it's the case with Mishin. He is still in the business and wouldn't want to make his skaters' life more difficult by sharing pro secrets with Eteri's girls.

Yes, it’s certainly only hypothetical and I have absolutely no hope that it will happen. I explained it in my most recent post: It‘s just something I daydreamed about.

Of course Mishin is all business and rivalry between coaches is a bit different in Russia in general. That‘s why I‘m fairly sure that he won‘t invite other coaches‘ students to his summer camps. What use would it be to train the competition to be even better versions of themselves if he can instead prep his own students to win? Especially if their schools and skaters are fighting for spots and funding. I‘m not overestimating Mishin‘s generosity, I was just thinking about this since someone‘s brought it up. I thought it sounded interesting.

 

[Edwin]

I think Kostornaya is a bright as they come and together with her parents knows about all the options available to her and the barriers that might be in her way to success.

If she really is clever and studious, she will be looking forward to finishing her school year with the best results possible after JWC and her skating season comes to a close. I suppose she is a 11th or 12th grade student by now?
So she will apply herself to her classes, clear the backlog of lessons and tests and prepare for her end of year exam. I know ordinary school takes second stage to skating, but ambitious and bright kids still are able to keep up with both, doing homework instead of social media or television after dinner.

As others have written in this thread and elsewhere, when despite her magnificent figure skating and ambitions to become World Champion, when still being overclassed by other skaters, Alyona herself might step down from the highest level of figure skating and enrol herself in medical university when she has finished her school's final year with the required results, perhaps taking an extra prep year.
She will still be able to skate in national championships or for her own pleasure, or even maintain some endorsements.

And wouldn't it be nice if there was a NCAA style of student competition program in Russia, where good students that are good athletes can study and compete on a bursary?

 

[Artemisa]

I think maybe alena will be one of the few that will get better scores internationally than at home ... because in russia TES = PCS ... internationally that isn't the case ... with their consistency and the way she skates + 5 will be in her way ... like a jason in men's skating... trusova even with quads won't get this kind of PCs

And I think it's smart from her ... with her PCs... if she can get the jump perfect 100 % of the time why loose PCS in trying ... but with her jumps .. I think it's a matter of time the 3A or 4